


Picnic

by personaljunkdrawer



Series: To Consume [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Paranormal Investigators, Timeline Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:08:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/personaljunkdrawer/pseuds/personaljunkdrawer
Summary: Colby returns from a trip to catch up with the boys. He returns addressing much more than he thought he'd left behind.
Relationships: Colby Brock/Brennen Taylor, Colby Brock/Sam Golbach, Sam Golbach/Katrina Stuart
Series: To Consume [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745941
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! This story is going to probably be slow, I'm not going to promise any sort of update schedule - I just have some stuff to work through so I'm doing it via these lovely boys. The story will take place across two timelines, and in three different locations. It also presupposes that the boys actually moved to Hawaii.

**Honolulu - October 18, 2021**

“Sam, _please_ sit down!” Kat pleaded, again, leaning back over the counter to balance her elbow. Her mouth stretched wide to make space for the precarious ritual of Liquid Eyeliner Application.

Sam’s steps echoed through the wide master bath, pacing, jarring. He attempted a seat on the counter for a moment, only to pop right back up. “I can’t, I feel like my heart needs to fart.”

“Haha, heart-fart, rhyme - ah, shit!” She wet her finger to wipe some of the smudge away. “Don’t make me laugh; this takes concentration...and stillness...and _silence_.”

With a shrug, he continued his pacing. “Half an hour, Kat, I’m gonna piss myself.”

She dropped the pen and turned to face him over her shoulder. “Are you guys, like, actually married? Because you can tell me if you are.”

His hands made their way smoothly across her hips. He leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek, “I like it when you look back at me like that.” nearly growled.

“Sam, please, let me finish.”

“I can help you finish.” She could hear the smirk.

“So it’s either nervous or horny with you? Is that it?” She stretched her face again, putting the final touches onto the winged look, with extra attention to keep her hips still where they were pressed to him.

He shrugged an agreement.

“See, look. Done. Let’s go.”

And like that, he had nearly teleported out of the bathroom.

**Daniel K. Inouye Airport**

Sam drummed his thumbs across the steering wheel while Kat scrolled through instagram, clock ticking once to mark another minute passed.

“Where is he?”

Kat craned her neck to look out the window, then pointed. “Oh! I see him!”

“Wha - where?” he leaned over her lap to search the sidewalk of the arrivals area.

His eyes caught the target and he bolted from the car.

Colby dropped his bag at the objects hurtling toward him and stumbled back on the impact. He wrapped his arms tight around Sam, and nearly squeaked as Sam squeezed and lifted him, spinning him in a circle.

“I missed you so much, brother.”

Sam grumbled his agreement into Colby’s neck.

They rocked, pressed tight, for several minutes, until finally Sam let go. He beamed up at his best friend, and sighed.

“Okay, details in the car, Kat’s waiting, we got dinner!”

“Ta-?”

“Taco Bell.”

“Ugh, fuck, yes,” He dipped to lift his bag, Sam taking the other. “I missed Taco Bell.”

“You just spent half a year in Italy,” Sam scoffed, “and you miss Taco Bell?”

Colby just shrugged and tossed his bags into the trunk, turning to give Kat a hug.

“It’s good to see you, Colbs. Missed you.”

He chuckled, “I missed you guys too.”

“Sam nearly peed his pants waiting for you.” She whispered.

Sam grumbled behind her, “Babe, you don’t need to -”

“It’s true!” 

Colby just made his way to the back seat. “I see shit ain’t change.”

**Waikiki, Oahu**

The downpour was torrential, wind whipping between trees and down alleys, but the warm glow of the movie room kept it insulated and cozy. The boys sat on a make-shift picnic blanket - courtesy of Corey because Jake’s blanket was ‘crusty’ - on the floor, cushioned chairs be damned, and munched away at assorted junk foods.

“Okay, best memory?”

Colby swallowed, with a sip of a Baja Blast to wash it down. “Hmm...that’s a tough one.”

“Anything paranormal?” Sam amended.

“Yes!” Colby gave, with a pointed finger. “Of course _you_ would ask - we went to this one place, this castle, and like…” he took another sip, “...so I’m setting up the equipment, Elton is testing the camera, and Brennen was helping him, and we all hear this giggle - right?”

Jake scoffed, while Corey’s eyes were nearly watering. “A giggle?”

“Well, not like a kid, though, like a fake-flirty laugh almost.”

“Weird.” Sam noted quietly before reaching for another bite.

“Right, weird, so I get the EMF detector, like, _immediately_ , and it’s all green all over, until Corbin runs in, with Jay behind him and it literally turns all the way red and _stays_ all the way red for a full minute.”

Corey nearly choked, “What the fuck - so Corbin is, like, haunted or…?”

Colby shook his head and swallowed his sip. “He said that Jay was looking for a flashlight because they saw a shadow of a woman fall onto the corner of the room, and then Corbin, like, stops freaking out, and says that he felt something - someone - whatever, like fully grab his uh…”

Jake spat out his drink, cackling. “Oh my god! He got groped by a ghost?”

The look on Corey’s face was somewhere between amused and appalled.

“He must have some good-ass dick if ghosts want it.” Jake added. Corey cracked into laughter.

Sam just shrugged, “He’s athletic. It adds up.” He took a casual bite of his burrito much to Colby’s discomfort and confusion.

“O-okay, so we go back to the room they were in, and Elton has the old floorplan, it used to be a servant’s quarters. Turns out, the maid got hella freaky with the Castle-owner-guy’s son, and then like, he didn’t hit it right, or whatever, and she deadass stabbed him to death in the bed.”

Jake just laughed harder, “Corbin got that murder-dick!”

It just devolved from there into snacking, and joking, and spectral speculation.  
\---

Colby jolted at the knock at the door. “Come in.”

He sat up, covering himself with the blanket, and set his phone down. The room was sparse, but he hadn’t really spent any time there before leaving for Italy. He could make it his own in the months to come, he decided.

Sam creaked the door open, but didn’t enter. Just leaned against the door-jamb. “Hey, man.”

“Hey, what’s up?” He looked tired, but slightly more than that. Something under that.

“I, uh...I just wanted to say I missed you and I’m glad you’re back.” He fiddled with the hem of his tee-shirt.

Colby felt the urge to cover himself further. His eyes flicked from the floor and back up to Sam’s expectant gaze. “I missed you too, dude. Seriously. Thanks for uh...for letting me back.”

Sam just shook his head. “Dude, _of course_.”

The silence hung in the air thicker than the autumn humidity.

“Look…” the sharp breath he took made Colby shift where he sat. “I’m really sorry about - about before you left. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you couldn’t - like you needed to leave or anything.”

Colby’s brow furrowed, his chest ached for a moment. “Sam, it’s fine. It’s okay, like, fully I forgive you, okay? And you don’t have to apologize, you didn’t -”

“No, I did. I _did_. I fucked up, and I’m sorry.”

Colby nodded, “Yeah, yeah, okay, well you’re forgiven, and I didn’t mean leaving personally. It was just - I didn’t, like, know - well, I knew, I think, but I hadn’t accepted it, and then there was Kat, and....yeah.”

Sam broke his gaze, eyes glued to the floor suddenly.

“How are you guys?”

“Good, actually. Like, honestly, good. I just...I’m sorry.” He leaned in to grab the door, “Have a good night, man.”

“Sam.”

He stopped, door nearly closed.

“I missed you. I’m really fuckin’ happy to be back, okay? I promise.”

Sam’s gaze caught his again, and his lips twitched with a smile for a moment. Just long enough for Colby to catch, to make the ache in his chest tighten.

“Have a good night, Sam.”

“G’night.”


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby spends the night away from home.

**Los Angeles - March 3, 2021**

Blankets and miscellaneous clothes flew across the room as Kat scurried to find her phone in the pile. She kneeled on the bed and swiped the ‘answer’ at the last second.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?”

It was silent for a moment, before her heart dropped.

“Kat, I - can I come over?” He sounded grief-struck, the tired gravel in his tone.

She slumped onto the bed. “Of course, what happened?”

“I fucked up - like, _bad_ and I - I’ll explain when I get there.”

She nodded to herself, already standing to tidy up the area. “Wait - can you drive right now? I thought -”

He cursed to himself. “I’ll call an uber. I’ll be there soon just - fuck...thank you.”

“Of course, just be safe, okay?”

The line dropped.  
\---

Kat opened the front door with one arm already out to wrap around Sam’s shoulders. He clung to her, his face buried in her hair. 

“I fucked up, Kat.”

She just stroked his back as they made their way to her room. She handed him a glass of water, and stood between his knees where he sat on the bed, carding her fingers through his hair. He looked up at her, eyes glossy, red-rimmed, and sighed. “You wanna talk about it?”

He ran a hand over his face and took a sip of the water, then set it on the dresser. 

“I kissed him.”

She schooled her face, holding back the disapproval, and sat next to him. “And I take it he didn’t - wasn’t feeling the same?”

His head dropped, shaking. “I don’t know - I just thought it was a good time, or like...like the only opportunity I’d have. Fuck!”

“Hey!” She ran long trails down his back, “It’s not you, Sam. I don’t - it’s not you. I just think maybe he was confused with Brennen and...it’s not you, okay?”

The sardonic laugh almost made her draw away - but he needed her right now. She wrapped her arms across his shoulders, pulling him to lay down with her.

“I honestly don’t think it’s you, Sam. Because he loves you to death.” He burrowed into the soft flesh at the top of her chest. “I think maybe - maybe he was confused, is all, and we made the wrong conclusion.”

Sam withdrew. “I ruined _everything_ , Kat. It isn’t Brennen - he - maybe he was confused before but he’s not now.” The end pattered off into a croak.

“What do you mean?”

Sam ran his hands across his face. “He’s going to Italy with Elton and the crew.”

Kat ran her fingers through his hair, pulled him closer. “That doesn’t mean anything is ‘ruined’, maybe he just needs time to -”

“He’s going, and when they’re done, he’s staying with Brennen...for a year.”

_Fuck._

She pulled him onto her, wrapping his up close and rocking. “I ruined everything, Kat, he’s - he’s leaving. What the fuck am I gonna do?” Her heart clenched at the tear that dropped onto her chest.

She just kissed the top of his head. 

“What am I gonna do about the channel? About MetaLife? Everything - _fuck_ , I ruined it.”

**West Hollywood - March 3, 2021**

“Thank you, man, I just - I couldn’t stay there.”

Brennen grabbed Colby’s bag out of his hand, and ushered him into the apartment. “Of course, bro. It’s uh...it’s a lot to process.”

“I can take the couch if -”

“No, no, you get the bed, I’ll take the couch. Trust me, it’s totally cool.”

Colby sighed, trudging up to Brennen and leaning his forehead on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Brennen. I didn’t know where else to go.”

Brennen turned, pulling Colby flush to him. “Hey, I got you, okay? I know it might be hard to...break some habits…” Colby chuckled darkly against him. “But we leave in a week, Elton has you covered, and the spot in Rome has three rooms, so like, look at me.” 

He put his hands on Colby’s shoulders and pulled back. “No worries, okay?”

Colby nodded, and slunk back into the hug. 

Brennen made dinner, Colby showered, sobered up a little, and set out plates. 

He was still drunk, but far less so than an hour ago, when he’d called Brennen in a panic. His mind was clearing up. “So, what does that mean for...well, us?” He finally posed, grabbing a cup from the cabinet. Brennen turned to him. Fully turned, to face him. 

“What do you want it to mean?” 

Colby grabbed the cup, held it close to his chest. “I mean...it’s not long-distance if we’re in the same house.”

Brennen stared at him, through him, and refused to look away. “So I’m, what, your rebound?”

Colby scoffed, “I don’t think it counts as a ‘rebound’ if you get back with your ex.”

He couldn’t really argue with that. 

“And, ya know…” Colby began.

“Know what?” He turned back to stir the pasta.

“When in Rome…”

A wide smile stretched across his lips. “When in Rome, what? Use olive-oil as lube?”

Colby spluttered. “It was _one time_ , Brennen!”

He just shrugged, and grabbed the bottle of olive oil by the stove. “Not exactly ‘extra-virgin’ anymore, huh?”

Colby shuddered. “Right, well, we’ll have plenty in Rome.”

“We?”

He nodded, “If you want to...try again?”

Brennen sat the spoon down, and made his way to Colby, until Colby’s back was pinned to the refrigerator. He wiped his hands on his jeans and placed one of each of Colby’s cheeks, and pulled him. The kiss was firm, long, needed.

Colby wrapped his arms around Brennen’s shoulders, melting into it - the comfort, and familiarity. He eased into Brennen’s grasp like he could shake the last month off - shake off the breakup, shake off the drama, shake off _Sam._

He followed for a moment, after Brennen withdrew. “Dinner.” He muttered, placing a peck on Colby’s cheek.

Colby rolled his hips across, sweatpants doing little to hide the evidence of the comfortable routine his body had set in Brennen’s presence. “Then dessert?”

Brennen just smirked.


End file.
